Reviews/Previews

On the 31st March, Club Reina will be taken over by some of the finest artists in the underground scene. Celebrating their first year in style, with Nu Zau, Suciu, Rawness, Razvan Stefan, Ma'man, Valentin and Slavi.

After their shows at Hoxton FM hosting DJs with the likes of Julia Govor, Faster, VincentIulian and LIZZ, numerous parties and cumulating a cult following, these underground innovators are celebrating a year of incredible memories. The crew has curated parties that celebrate the best of minimal techno and micro house, driven to create the atmosphere of a big house party with good music and diversity.

Bucharest’s pioneering producer Nu Zau will join the AFAR crew, inspired by Ricardo Villalobos and Rhadoo, his dark, percussive and experimental sound is unlike any other in the underground scene. In time a new label vinyl project is created by the name of Uvar, which he co-runs with fellow romanian Sepp.

Suciu stands out from the crowd with his charming groove-led productions and haunting atmospherics, a juxtaposition that only works in his favour. A lover of house, jazz, rap and rock- he blends together multiple styles with finesse. The end result is something dark, complex and compelling.

Rawness will be bringing his signature dark melodies and heavy grooves. The Dubgeneration star’s futuristic releases are sure to incite electric impulses in the crowd, expect to hear heavy basslines, warped vocals and pure underground vibes.

FriendsFromAfar have also called in Razvan Stefan, Ma'man, Valentin and Slavi, who will take over Club Reina at 10pm on the 31st March. This passionate get-together is sure to be a celebration of sound and the people who have made the movement such a success.

The term 'legend' is often banded around willy nilly in the dance music realm, but Mr. G, aka Colin McBean, is one of the few who can rightfully lay claim to this accolade. Mr. G on Kris Wadsworth’s very own label Breed. There can’t be a better mix! Superb jacking and grooving Mr. G style. Timeless classic jams repressed.

The ever-essential deep house super group Mandar make the leap to an album in fine style after a few years of unbeatable EPs on their own Oscillat Music label and elsewhere. The grooves bump just right, the moods unfurl like toffee-flavoured smoke and with these 12 jams Mandar prove once again why they're at the top of the deep house game.

Giammarco Orsini’s Game of Chance EP makes for such potent material on the dancefloor. This is refined and reduced dance music that radiates warmth and champions groove, subtly preaching positivity in the most elegant of ways.

BQD040.1 is a collection of remixes the label released during its early years. Back then, the label intended to back up every release with a remix. All of these remixes meant something special to the label, and now they’re all here for you to enjoy on one record.

Moscow Records boss Archie Hamilton is a long time friend of the FUSE London family, having previously contributed to a number of releases. Driven To Distraction, though, is his first FUSE outing since 2015. A solid EP containing tracks tailor-made for different dancefloor situations.

Following his release on Perlon as Alter Mahnn, collective member Ion Ludwig signs Toi.Toi’s 4th release. The EP brings two tracks carefully chosen and crafted. Rather than having the dance floor as a drive they are rather more mind driven, a very mature EP.

This second label release, which arrives with no information about the producers behind it, is as strong as its 2016 predecessor. It's a pretty varied affair, too, with spacey chords, intergalactic effects electro-influenced drums and a triumphant stroll into dubbed-out tech-house territories.

Mancunian electronic explorer Fred Shepherd once again dons the No Moon alias, this time for a quartet of distorted, redlined machine jams on Echo Vortex. Razor-sharp acid lines and hustling electro rhythms all the way.

Buena onda means good mood in South America and in such good mood I was entering Boom'n'Bust Luciano Birthday edition at Hoppetosse on Sunday, 26th of February. Of course the weekend was long and intense, but an end of the week gathering at one of Berlins favorite underground venues is always a good idea!

The lineup for the event sounded also extremely tempting- the South American/ Vagabundos DJ crew for Lucianos Bash and Dyed Soundorom and Shonky on the upper deck. Why not?

Friendly security and door staff is a great asset for any space, not to mention how relevant that is on a Sunday. All easy and cool, I walked right in to Hoppetosse and rushed immediately down the stairs where Santiago born Paula Schopf aka Chica Paula was playing for already an hour. Somehow an unexplainable feeling of summer was in the air, maybe due to the quite «hot» conditions at the busy Hoppetosse boat. Paula played energetic and sophisticated house and minimal. Reading the anticipation of the crowd well she made people dance smiling.

Sunday 7 PM and the venue was already not surprisingly very busy and a feeling of overall excitement was in the air. Soon the lower deck was sweaty and cooking hot and a trip in search of more oxygen was indisputable. Upstairs Dyed Soundorom and Shonky were absolutely rocking it with their groovy and deep tech house tracks, hypnotic and driving, still slow enough to perfectly fit into the Sunday Hoppetosse mood. With pleasure I recognized a really beautiful track of Mountain People.

After a quick drink, it was time to dive downstairs again, where the smooth and hypnotic mixes of Chica Paula created a perfect buildup and set the energy level for the night. Ernesto Ferreyra took it further throwing down minimalish lushness with characteristic twists and glitches. Groovy, his set included many cool baseline tracks that made the dancers stomp their feet harder. Luciano arrived soon after. I was really curious what the head honcho of Cadenza would come up with- on his birthday in one of the Berlin underground clubs especially!

For us, Ibiza regulars back in the day, it truly was an extraordinary moment when he showed up one late afternoon on the DC10 club terrace. Firmly mixing cosmic minimal techno records with latin rhytms he took us really far out that day. I am sure that everybody present knew that it was a truly special moment and a start of the Luciano residency.

Beeing a big fan of the early Lucien-n-luciano experimental exploration of sound I was hoping he would play some of his old productions, music he would play at Cadenza events at Panorama Bar like the Perlon release «Alpine Rocket» with Mathew Jonson or the track he wrote for his sister- «Amelie on Ice».

Hosting multiple parties on Ibiza and playing big festivas Lucianos music style has evolved from minimal techno to a blend of house and techno mixed with latin rhytms and vocals. Vagabundos and Luciano and Friends on Ibiza has brought him a huge following worldwide with no exception of Berlin. A clear sign of that were many people wearing characteristic black hats – clearly a Vagabundos Ibiza style accesoire. At Hoppetosse he delivered a bouncy and danceable mixture of tech house and deep house playing b2b with his Vagabundos crew. Changing rhytms and melodies with percussive solos incorporating sax and horns made the dancefloor packed and the crowd was cheering.

Next up was Argenis Brito playing b2b with Felipe Valenzuela. Together as FAER, Argenis reveiled they are currently working on an album, which will be out at the end of 2017. Venezuelan Argenis has been a part of the electronic music scene for way more than a decade and has participated in projects like Mambotour (with Pier Bucci), Los Refrescos (with Dandy Jack) and of course the incredible Senor Coconut and his Orchestra. The other half of FAER, Chilean Melisma imprint co-creator Felipe Valenzuela has been Djing since 2002 and released music on labels like Cadenza, Raum...Musik or Safari Electronique.

Together they delivered a blend of melodious and elegant late night techno, which was really down my alley. FAER- really happy and excited about their project, played quite a few fresh and unreleased tracks from the forthcoming album and the feedback of the crowd was simply great!

Dandy Jack – the absolute king of aliases, rounded it up for me with a rocking live/DJ set. With his mature structures of contemporary layered sound, the Ruta 5 label boss is absolutely mindblowing as a live act and has also got a fountain of possibilities as a DJ. His experience, genious passion for electronic music as well as cosmic energy is famous amongst the Berlin dancers and beyond. Few performers have such an intuition and skill to lift the crowd up with their latin influenced techno and energy. Apart from his own productions (Perlon, Contexterrior, Ruta 5), many collaborations have resulted in timeless tracks as Ric y Martin (with Ricardo Villalobos), Gonzalo Martinez (with Jorge Gonzalez), Sieg uber die Sonne (with Pink Elln) or Junction SM (with Sonja Moonear).

Dandy Jack's enthusiasm was so contagious that I left the venue way later than planned, after countless tequila shots- happy, high on music and satisfied with my night.

Tech-house's own cockney rebel, East End Dubs, has been busy of late. His first missive of 2017 comes on psychedelically inclined "splatter" pattern vinyl, but doesn't stray far from his usual musical blueprint

Adult Only 46 is here and it’s another biggie. Chris Carrier’s trusty label always delivers the funk and this release is no exception. Featuring Rhythm&Soul plus Ukrainian newcomers Belogurov and Orbit and the bossman Carrier himself, it’s comprised four tracks, all with their own unique groove and atmosphere – perfect for anyone who loves deep rhythmic house music with hypnotic sensibilities.

The development of the VBX platform has been in step with Ferro's coming of age as an artist. One almost cannot be mentioned without reference to the other. It is for this reason that it made perfect sense to invite Ferro for the second instalment of the VBX label. Immerse yourself into Ferro's musical universe full of heady modulating sounds capes and shimmering percussion.

Raftaf Holland has launched with their first release coming from no other than Cologne’s St. Joseph. Listen to the 3 track EP and you will instantly feel St. Joseph’s personality and production expertise in each track with a sense of intoxicating hypnosis perhaps the unifying factor.

Anthea’s new imprint Partisan welcomes Inner on their second release, an artist who is unafraid to offer the full spectrum of his musical personality, with an undeniable compulsion to push forward. Three, floor-minded tracks bind together to form a mesmerizing groove unlike any other.

K.O.D (King Of Delays) is the new collaborative project of Parisian microhouse heroes Cabanne (Minibar label head) and Aeternum Records boss man Lowris. The two track EP offers an effective “trance induction” of the most pleasant kind.

Unanim Records turns out to be the perfect match for Ion Ludwig's sound that refuses to confine itself under a specific genre. 2 tracks, each of them receiving a whole side of the record, as plenty of time and space to develop slowly. Designed for the very special dancefloor moments, Unanim's third release manages to capture Ion Ludwig's sound signature in its entire complexity.

Cabaret Recordings signs Spacetravel for Axiom EP. The four-track effort will be Luca Cara's first release on DJ Masda and So Inagawa's label. Axiom EP sees Cabaret move further into the electro-tinged sound.

Just Jack celebrated their 11th birthday in typically garish style this weekend. With bright lights, painted lanterns and an overwhelming sense of achievement. This vibrant get-together was a celebration of idiosyncrasy. Fuelled by funk-house anthems, the audience of eccentric guests grooved until the early hours of the morning.

Motion’s main room was bathed in multi-coloured lights while a large figure took up the stage, with two hands at either end, a giant head in the centre, and large spiralling eyes gazing into the distance. Meanwhile, the other room was filled with large multi-coloured lampshades that had been hand painted and draped with ivy. A large disco ball hung from the middle of the room, a nod towards the old-school rhythms that were being played.

It was a night of fun, mischief and general debauchery. Robert Hood took to the decks and plunged everyone into a world of pure drunk-funk heaven in the main room. The room became electrified as he played the classic ‘Tell You No Lie’, setting them ablaze with a flurry of lights.

In the Tunnel, Soichi Terada made the intimate setting his playground. The soulful grooves showcased his infamous humour and fun character as he reached over the decks to hi-five the eager partiers below him.

Underground master DJ Bone brought his masterful techniques with him, showcasing his skills in scratching, blending and back spinning he sent the audience into a whirlwind of innovative fusions of hip-hop, Detroit techno and old-school house.

Midland’s set in the second room was equally as illuminating. Then there was the ever-eclectic Optimo. It’s also worth recognizing Jayda G, she switched it up and brought some great tunes with her. Just Jack organisers and staples Tom Rio and Dan Wild were also guaranteed and made sure they delivered.

All in all, it was a night celebrating debauchery with Just Jack’s signature tongue-in-cheek-attitude. Perhaps not as extravagant as their usual get-togethers, but it felt like a family affair. A celebration of living and being free with a soulful soundtrack to help blast them into the next 11 years.